by Cecile Quindara
When the student activists from different universities in Baguio took their action protest “SIGWA: Kabataan Para sa Edukasyon, Laban sa Pasismo” on the streets last February 28, many people raised their eyebrows and sighed in dismay saying, “Ang daming nirereklamo! Ano pa ba ‘yang pinaglalaban niyo?”
The student activists proceeded to the Baguio City Post Office and merged with other activists from different universities. They continued their action protest along Session Road and held a program in Malcolm Square, still in line with the SIGWAlkout.
The action protest ended with a symbolic performance through the singing of “‘Di niyo ba naririnig?” in the tune of Les Misérables’s Do You Hear the People Sing?
SIGWAlkout might have ended there but the battle against tuition and other fee increase (TOFI), budget cuts, mandatory ROTC, education for all, and other issues are still prevalent. This battle will continue unless the government will make a move and the nation will do their part.
Kabataan Para sa Edukasyon
In March 2018, Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chairman J. Prospero de Vera III launched the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the Republic Act (RA) No. 10931, or the “Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act,” which commands free tuition and miscellaneous fees in state universities and colleges (SUCs).
Under RA 10931, college students who are enrolled in SUCs should not pay for any school fees and expenses. Ideally, studying at the tertiary level will be completely free.
In line with this, for the school year 2018-2019, the government allotted PHP 40 million to suffice the needs of the new RA.
Most officials were rooting for this act to run smoothly but there are still people who are against its implementation due to insufficient funding problems in the long run and the fear of giving free education benefits to people who can afford it.
Furthermore, the 1987 Philippine Constitution, Article 14 Section 1 says, “The State shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels and shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all.”
Generally speaking, it states quality and free education for all. However, RA 10931 only caters SUCs and most of which require students to pass an entrance exam that is relatively not easy. In this context, the privilege is on the side of students eligible to study in SUCs.
Even though RA 10931 and Article 14 Section 1 of the Constitution eased a small part of the problem in education, bigger issues are yet arising that makes people’s right for education unattainable. Some of these are the annual increase in tuition and other fees in private universities and budget cuts in the sector.
State universities and colleges cannot cater to all tertiary students. That is why other students resort to studying in private schools, which are not covered by the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act.
In Saint Louis University in Baguio, a 7 percent increase in tuition and other fees is expected to hit the incoming freshmen and transferees for the school year 2020-2021. The said university had 32 percent or P142 per unit accumulated TOFI since S.Y. 2015-2019.
The inflation rate in the Philippines also affects the education of the students. Through the implementation of Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Act, the prices of daily necessities of a person increased, therefore, having a lesser budget to balance and spend.
With the TOFI and TRAIN Act, another issue that makes education not for all is the budget cut for the sector. In the 2020 national budget, PHP 11.6 billion was cut from the CHED funding. This means that scholarship programs for thousands of students and the free tuition program will be negatively affected.
The implementation of TOFI and budget cuts together with the continuous inflation rate in the sector of education will cause a huge burden not only for the student themselves but also for the people relying on them and funding them.
Laban sa Pasismo
Duterte’s war on drugs resulted in around 27,000 extrajudicial deaths. However, the 27,000 deaths are not the only casualties caused by the administration. The families of the victims are left paralyzed and traumatized after their loved ones have been killed without justice being served.
Executive Order (EO) No. 70 or “Institutionalizing the Whole-of-Nation Approach in Attaining Inclusive and Sustainable Peace, Creating a National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, and Directing the Adoption of a National Peace Framework” was implemented last 2018.
EO 70 created a national task force that does not actually end the war between the state and the local communist but represses whoever opposes the administration. It protects those in position and their allies and punishes those who go against them.
Due to this EO, red-tagging among students, activists and progressive organizations became rampant. Deaths from different sectors of the country have also become widespread. From the start of the Duterte administration from 2016 to 2018, 12 journalists were killed. The Philippines was even labeled as deadliest peacetime country for journalists in Southeast Asia in 2018, according to this year’s Southeast Asia Media Report and published by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).
EO 70 became an avenue for the administration to seize everyone who disagrees with their ideas.
Tuloy-tuloy ang Laban
During the Duterte administration, the calls for having better governance became prevalent. The rallies and action protests became louder. The activists are standing up once again for the rights that the Filipino people deserve. The rampant oppression will not end unless the mass will unite against it.
“Hindi mali ang lumaban. May mali kaya lumalaban.”
Edited by Catherine De Leon
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